Tile Slim tracker hands-on: more than thin enough

This week the folks behind the original Tile bluetooth tracker have introduced another unit – Tile Slim. This bluetooth tracker is as thin as two credit cards pasted together, allowing the user to keep it comfortably inside their wallet – or basically wherever else they might need to slide it. This Tile’s thinness does not do away with the functionality of the original Tile – there’s still a button to tap and connectivity for smartphones of all sorts.

This unit works much like the original Tile – with a button. The user connects their smartphone to the Tile with Bluetooth. The Tile has its own internal battery so it’ll stay on for extended periods of time without needing to be charged.*

The user takes the Tile and places it with or on the object they want to keep track of. When that item needs to be found, the user taps a button in their smartphone’s Tile app, and their chosen sound rings forth from the Tile they seek.

A button on the Tile Slim will make the user’s phone make noise, even if that phone is on silent.

This device also works with the same lost-and-found feature as the most recent Tile. If the user loses an object with a Tile, that user can tap the “Notify When Found” button for that Tile in their smartphone app. When the object comes within range of “any user within Tile’s global network”, the Tile app will notify the Tile owner’s smartphone of the Tile’s last known location.

Ruggedness: IP5 standard water resistant

Weight: 9.3g

Size: 54mm x 54mm x 2.4mm

Sound: 82 – decibel melody

*Battery Life: “One year from shipment”

Tile Slim is set to be available this week through TheTileApp website store for $30 apiece or in a 4-pack for $100 USD with free shipping inside the United States.